Social Responsibilities

Great Grid Power Lights up the Chinese and Pakistani Border

Publication Date:2013-01-23

On the morning of July 21, the Khunjerab 35KV Power Transmission and Transformation Project worth RMB 30 million, was run officially.

Khunjerab Pass, with an elevation of nearly 5000 meters, is an indispensible node along the “Silk Road” in Xinjiang and of strategic importance. In May, 1986, the Khunjerab Pass, reputed as “Valley of Death”, was officially put into running. As we know, Khunjerab Frontier Defense Company and Armed Police Frontier Defense Checkpoint mostly had been depending on solar energy generation equipment and diesel engine to supply power ever before, so the electric power was far from enough to meet normal work and life demands.

To thoroughly overcome the “lack of electric power” problem in Khunjerab, in June, 2013, the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) invested RMB 30 million in building the 35KV Power Transmission & Transformation Project that leads to the Khunjerab-based Frontier Defense Company. On the Pamirs Plateau with an elevation of 5,000 meters, SGCC newly built one 35KV transformer substation and erected a 35KV power transmission line with length of 55 kilometers.

“Since 2010, SGCC has made investment of RMB 183 million in total and energized 6 frontier defense companies in Xinjiang. On May 8 of this year, SGCC worked with Xinjiang Military Command to jointly launch the “Power the Army” project at Wulastai Pass that is located on the Chinese and Mongolian border.

It’s an arduous mission to erect the “Power Grid of Sky Road”. Each year, the time for construction on Pamirs Plateau lasts for only 3-plus months, and altitude sickness brings about short construction time each day. Due to this, SGCC invested more than RMB 30 million and spent more than one year in completing the 55km power transmission line.